Luk. 8:15 ... "As for that [seed] in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience."
With this statement Jesus concludes the Parable of the Sower. The sower is the Christian teacher or preacher, and the seed he sows is God's word. The ground into which the seed is sown is the heart of anyone who listens attentively. In the parable Jesus describes the condition of heart of four types of people who hear the word. First, there are those who surrender to Satan so easily that the word never takes root within them. Second, there are those whose minds are so shallow that, although they receive the word with joy, it cannot penetrate deeply enough to become a part of them. Third, there are those so captivated by sensuality and materialism that the word is choked out of them. Fourth, there are those with receptive hearts who let the word root easily, nurture it to maturity, and then yield its fruit in their lives.
It should be the desire of everyone to please God who created him, sustains him, wills to save him, and holds his eternal destiny in his hand. There may be many people with this desire, albeit often feeble, alive in their hearts. Nevertheless, they have no idea what to do to win God's approval. It should be recognized that the Bible generally, and the New Testament specifically, reveal what God desires in man. But the size and perceived complexity of the Bible discourages so many people from making the attempt to discover this revelation. There are, however, occasional brief summaries of God's requirement, and the text featured above is one of them. Although one should not stop with it alone in his effort to discern God's will for his life, it does serve as an excellent doorway that opens to the right path of life.
It reveals that God looks first for "an honest and good heart" in the person who will please Him. Since honesty relates to truth, one must train himself to love truth, seek truth, and promote truth. Along with that he must learn to hate deception, oppose deception, and expose deception. A "good heart" is one full of kindness, caring, and sympathy. One must train himself to think and act in a kind, caring way with others, and generate toward them sympathy as they suffer physically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually. The heart must be conditioned by honesty and goodness before there can be any hope of pleasing God.
God next looks for the individual to listen seriously to His word, be deeply moved by it, and then treasure it in his heart. One who seeks to please God must have an active appetite for knowledge and understanding of the Holy Scriptures. Thus he will study them diligently in private and regularly with the church when it assembles for that purpose. Bible study for him will never be an onerous task, but a joy and privilege. God's word is "a lamp to [the] feet and a light to [the] path," (Psa. 119:105), for it leads those who use it into the presence of God.
Finally, God looks with pleasure upon the one who will "bear fruit with patience." This "fruit" includes "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness [and] self-control," (Gal. 5:22). Collectively, this fruit constitutes a character that is fashioned by the work of the Holy Spirit who dwells within the life of faithful Christians. It is manifested in behavior that is clean, peaceful, and constructive. It will not allow itself to be compromised by "the desires of the flesh" that continually try to enter the Christian's soul.
